The present invention relates generally to bottle openers and bottle storage devices. More particularly, the apparatus and method of the present invention relates to a device designed such that it may hold at least one bottle for storing and be used to easily remove bottle caps.
Bottle cap removers are known in the art. Typically, they are a hand held device that makes contact with the cap under its edge and along the caps top to pry the cap off the bottle. Another type of commonly used cap remover is one that is attached to a wall or side of a bar, instead of being handheld, wherein the user places the bottle cap end into the remover and then pries the cap off the bottle by moving the bottle. These known cap removers are limited to removing the cap off of one bottle at a time. In addition, they do not hold the bottle for storage and easy removal when the bottled beverage is ready to be served.
For example, an establishment that servers bottled beverages may receive from the supplier bottled beverages in a packaged container of holding multiple bottles of the beverage including, but not limited to, 6, 12, 18, 24, 30, or any other number of bottles. When the employee of the establishment stocks the bottled beverages, the employee grabs one bottle at a time and typically places each one on a shelf or a bottom of a refrigerator or cooler so that it is available for serving in the future. When the employee is stocking large amounts of bottled beverages, this can be a very time consuming task.
In addition, when a customer orders a bottled beverage, the employee must grab a bottle in his/her hand and then open the bottle by using either a handheld opener or by placing the bottle cap end in a remover and opening the bottle. This task seems simple enough. However, having to open one bottle at a time can be troubling in a very busy establishment and especially when customers order multiple bottled beverages at a time. There exist a need for a device that improves the ease and speed of stocking and storing bottled beverages as well as opening multiple bottled beverages.
The bottle holder and opener of the present invention meets such a need. The bottle holder and opener of the present invention provides an employee an apparatus and method to grip multiple bottles at a time and then place those bottles very quickly in storage for future serving. In addition, the present invention provides an apparatus and method to remove multiple caps from multiple bottles simultaneously in a very easy and quick manner. The present invention provides a body having at least one aperture for receiving the cap of a bottle and a slideable member that engages the cap and enables the bottle to suspend from the cap. The present invention further provides a holder that may engage the body and hold it for storing and future serving of the bottled beverages held by the body.
In addition to the novel features and advantages mentioned above, other features and advantages of the present invention will be readily apparent from the following descriptions of the drawings and exemplary embodiments.